RWBAY: The Black Huntsman
by Anti-Mage 29
Summary: Asta was born as the son of one of the greatest Huntsmen and the greatest magic user, but he had one problem. He had no Aura or mana of his own. Even so, He wouldn't give up on his dream, and kept on fighting. This is the tale of one of the greatest protectors of Remnant.


**Merry Christmas, and welcome to my RWBY/Black Clover crossover. I hope you enjoy this one.**

* * *

The sun was nearly set as an airship soon docked on the forest covered island of Patch, and soon began to let its passengers out into the station. One of them stood out more than the others. The person was a young woman wearing a blue cloak with her hood up, so her face was obscured. She seemed to be trying to not draw attention, as the cloak hid everything, including her clothes.

However, she was unable to avoid the sight of some guards, who make their way to her. "Excuse me miss." They say, to which the woman stops and turns to them. "May we ask that you remove your cloak? Just to check if you have anything illegal on you." They ask her. The woman remains still for a moment, and then opens her cloak.

She wore a white, sleeveless shirt with a raised, pale blue collar and a blue rhombus-shaped crystal on the upper chest. A long, high-waisted skirt that was white with a faint purple tint and a purple sash was around the waist. For accessories, she wore gray, circular earrings and a pair of dull brown bracers, and her long fingernails were painted pale lilac.

"Thank you. Sorry for the inconvenience." The guards said to her. They then walk away from her, and she continues her journey. As she walks through the town, she began to look for a hotel to stay for the night. The sun has set as the woman is still looking for a place to stay, however, she discovers she is being followed.

She glances behind her and she sees a man who looked up to evil intensions. She then broke into a sprint and tried to lose him. The man gave chase and soon caught up to the woman. He placed his hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming, and brandished a knife and threatened her. "Do anything, and you die." The man said.

He led her to a dark alley, seemingly abandoned. The man moves her cloak out of the way, and lifts her dress. "Very nice." He said the woman started to tear up, but stayed motionless due to the knife aimed at her. Then something unexpected happened.

Someone saw what was happening and instead of just letting it happen, the person ran up and punched the assaulter, knocking him down. The assaulter got up and moved to stab the woman's savior, up the newcomer pivoted and grabbed the assaulter's wrist as he dodged. He then grabbed his back and pushed the knife-wielder to the ground.

The good Samaritan twisted the felon's wrist to make him let go of the knife, kicked it away, and stared down at the assaulter. "Scum like you don't deserve to live." The Samaritan said to his opponent, causing him to widen his eyes. "But fortunately for you, it's not my job to decide who lives and dies." The savior said, and then pounded his downed opponents head into the ground, knocking him out.

After the authorities came to take the person away, the good Samaritan went up to the woman to check on her. "Are you alright?" He asked the woman. Once she was calm, she looked at her savior's appearance.

He was a teen with a rather muscular build, blond hair that has two small strands sticking out from the top and blue eyes. His hair was once a bright shade of gold. He wears brown cargo pants. with a dark brown belt, black shoes, an orange bandana on his left arm, and a brown leather vest over a tan dress shirt with the right sleeve cut off. For armor, he wears a metal spaulder, leather vambrace, and a brown fingerless glove, all on his right arm.

"I'm fine." She responded in a slightly quiet voice, her hood having fallen off.

The woman had fair skin, pale blonde hair, and light blue eyes. She wore most of her hair down, with a small section of it tied into a small bun that trails some of the hair down below it. Most of her bangs were tied back, aside from a large lock that framed her face to her left. Another strange feature was that her ears were pointed.

"You look like you're new to the area. Need a place to stay?" The male asked her. "That would be lovely." She said to him. "I'll take you to a hotel." The male then began to lead her." "Thank you." She said. "By the way, My name's Taiyang. You can call me Tai." He introduced himself. "And you are?"

"My name's Salem."

* * *

Outside a log cabin, we see four children, two girls and a boy, running around, the boy chasing the girls.

The older one of the girls was fair-skinned, with long golden blonde hair that pales at the end, tied into pigtails by yellow ribbons, and lilac eyes. She was wearing a yellow shirt and black shorts.

The younger girl had fair skin, silver eyes and black, neck-length, choppy hair that gradates to dark red at the tips. She was wearing a red and black dress with a red cloak.

Chasing them was a boy the same age as the blonde, wearing a white shirt and brown pants. The boy had green eyes and alabaster hair, styled in a spiky manner, with bangs going over his forehead, and a single strand standing up in the middle.

"I'm gonna get ya!" The boy called to the girls, picking up his pace. "Not this time!" The blonde cheered back, the black and red hared girl laughing with her. The younger girl then tripped on a stone and fell face first into the ground. The older girl stopped running and turned to the younger one. "Ruby!" She called in worry, and began making her way to the little girl. The boy saw this and sped up to meet them.

The younger girl, now named Ruby raised her head and began to tear up. "Calm down. Don't cry." The older blonde said, becoming nervous as Ruby began to sniffle. She then began to bawl loudly. "Hey, it's okay." The boy said in a calming tone, causing the silver-eyed girl to look at her, tears still flowing. "C'mon. Let's get you up." He said, reaching his hand out to the teary-eyed girl. Ruby took his hand and was pulled up onto her feet.

"See. Now stop frowning. You're too cute to have a frown." The boy said while wiping the girl's cheeks from her tears. Ruby then let out a small, smile. "There we go, Ruby. Now don't be sad anymore, because we'll be there for you." He smiled to the younger girl, referring to himself and the blonde. "Thank you, big brother." Ruby said to the boy, her smile growing. "Way to go, bro." The blonde said, bringing her arm around his neck and into a one-armed hug, causing the boy to feel like he's being strangled.

"Ah, too tight. Can't breathe." The boy gasped out. "Yang! Let Asta go, you're hugging him too tight!" Ruby said to the blonde. "Easy, sis. I'm just showing a little love." Yang said, letting Asta go. "Ah, sweet air!" He gasped, taking big breaths, causing the other girls to laugh, to which he laughs along with them.

"Kids! C'mon in, it's time for lunch!" A male voice called from inside the cabin.

"Coming, dad!" The girls called back, and began to run into the cabin with Asta. When they got inside, they saw an older looking Taiyang, now with stubble on his face, with a red bandana where the orange one once was. Inside the kitchen were two women, one an older looking Salem, wearing a black dress, and another with similar features to Ruby, wearing a white cloak. On the table was an assortment of foods.

"So good!" Asta called when he saw the food, and made his way to the table. "Calm down, you." The woman wearing a white cloak said. "Sorry." Asta said to her. "Relax, Summer. He just loves your cooking." Tai said to the white-cloaked woman. "Oh, fine." Summer said. "Now go wash up before you eat." Salem told the children. "Okay." The three responded and went to the bathroom.

After the children washed up, everyone then sat down at the table, ready to eat.

Years have passed since Salem met Taiyang, and since then, Salem had been with Tai ever since, becoming a sister to him. The two spent their years training to become Huntsmen, and during which, Salem revealed her ability to use magic, a rare feat in this world.

During their attendance of Beacon Academy, they formed the first five-man team, along with Summer Rose, and twins, Raven and Qrow Branwen, forming Team SSTRQ. A few years after graduating, Salem married Professor Norman D. Ozpin, the headmaster.

Occasionally, Salem would either drop Asta off with Tai when she and Ozpin were too busy with work and had to leave home for a while, or stop by with an occasional visit, and when Asta met Yang and Ruby, they hit it off instantly.

Currently, the three children, now preteens, were now outside with Salem, who was teaching them an interesting art, Summer having left for a mission a few days earlier.

"Remember, you three. Focus." Salem said while observing them. The three children stand in a row, targets placed across from them.

Ruby closed her eyes and held out her hands. Between the appendages, lightning began to spark on her fingers. She then opened her eyes and fired a bolt at the target, hitting it in the middle ring.

Ruby began jumping up and down excitedly. "I did it! I did it!" Ruby cheered.

"Nice job. Now you, Yang." Salem said, looking to the blonde.

Yang followed Ruby's motions, but instead of lightning, golden fire began to spark on her hands. She opened her eyes, revealing that they turned red, and throws a punch, launching a blast of flame at the target, nearly hitting the bullseye.

"Ha!" Yang smiled.

"Well done." Salem smiled at her. "Now then, Asta." The aforementioned child began to look nervous. He got into a stance, closed his eyes and concentrated. He then opened his eyes, and let out a yell as he thrust his arm forward, his hand open. However, …

"Nothing happened!" Asta wailed, not having launched anything, his target still intact. "Why won't it work?! Why can't I use magic?!" Asta wails, falling to the ground in despair.

"Don't sweat it, bro." Yang said to her older brother. "Yeah, you'll get it eventually." Ruby supplied. "Easy for you to say. You can use it with ease, not to mention you've managed to unlock your Aura before me." Asta continued to lay on the ground.

"While that may be true, you far surpass them in combat practice, as well as physical training." Salem said, trying to cheer him up. "Too bad that Huntsmen and Magic Knights need Aura or magic to fight. It's a requirement to enroll in the academies. I'm only getting in to Signal due to Tai and Qrow's influence. The same probably could be said about Beacon with my dad." Asta said, getting up but still slightly depressed, he then walked around the cabin, becoming hidden from view.

"Why is learning magic and unlocking his Aura so important to Asta?" Ruby asked Salem. "Because he's my son." Salem answered, making the two girls look at her.

"While he knows that most people only have either magic or Aura, and only a rare few have both at the same time, he feels that because I'm the worlds current leading authority of magic techniques, as well as the one in charge of the grimoire regulation committee, and his father being the headmaster of one of the four greatest Huntsmen academies, that he has a legacy to uphold. I wish he knew that I don't care if he can't use magic or Aura. I just want him to be the best he can be." Salem said to her students and pseudo-nieces.

The three then hear Asta unleashing loud roars, followed by noises of pieces of wood hitting each other. Ruby, Yang, and Salem move to where they hear the noises, and see Asta hitting a training dummy with a wooden sword, going through some motions his parents taught him.

After one strike, he paused to take a breather. Asta stood up and thrust his open hand forward. "I don't care how long it takes, or how many times I fall down," He began and looked to the sky. "Magic, Aura or not, I will become a Huntsman and a Magic Knight! I'll protect My family, and make sure they keep their smiles!" Asta then grabbed the wooden sword, and began to strike the training dummy again, with more fire in his strikes, as if he was a demon.

"Even after everything, Asta never gives up. He's the greatest." Ruby said with admiration. "He'll get there. I know it." Yang said along with her sister. "Just keep going, my little devil. We'll support you no matter what." Salem said, smiling at her son.

Asta then stopped for a second, and looked at the woods, he sees a bird in the tree. He sees it fly around behind a tree, and from this tree, out came a man with spiky black hair, dull red eyes, and slight stubble along his jawline. He wore a red cloak, a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes.

This was Qrow Branwen, Ruby and Yang's uncle, and Tiayang and Salem's old teammate.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby shouted, and went up to hug the man's leg. "What're you doing here?" Yang asked as she and Salem approached the man. "Just popped by for a visit." He told them. Asta and his mother however, saw it was more than that. _"Whatever it is, it can't be good."_ Asta thought with worry, Salem thinking the same.

* * *

"This is a bad idea." Asta said warily, unable to comprehend why he decided to go with her in this endeavor. "It'll be fine. Quit worrying so much." Yang tried to placate him.

Unfortunately, Qrow didn't bring good news. Qrow went to back up Summer on her mission, but she never came back. All they found from their search were Grimm tracks, and blood. Taiyang broke down soon after hearing the news, and it wasn't long until Yang found out why. Summer wasn't the only person Taiyang loved. The first was another person they met while at the academy, and Yang's biological mother.

Few days later, Yang found what she thought could be a clue to where she is, a picture of their parents' former team, standing in front of a building. After waiting for their parents to leave, she put Ruby in a wagon and began to look for the building. Before she began however, Asta caught her in the act, and tried to talk her out of it.

Yang, however, was adamant on doing this, so Asta decided to come with her, which is how they find themselves in their current situation, walking through the forest, Yang dragging a sleeping Ruby in a wagon behind her, the two oldest covered in cuts and bruises.

"We should've at least left Ruby back at the house. She would've been safer there." Asta said, bringing up a good point.

"How is leaving a seven-year-old at the house alone, smart?" Yang tried to refute him. "How is bringing that seven-year old into a Grimm infested forest, with no way to defend her, safer than at a house that has magical seals protecting it, safe in any way?" Asta said, countering Yang's logic.

"Doesn't matter now, cause we're here." Yang said, deciding to end the conversation.

In front of the group was an old shed, looking as if it hadn't been used in years. "Yang, I'm sorry, but I don't think anyone's been here in years. Your mom's not here." Asta said, trying to comfort Yang. "Let's go home."

The two started to head back, Yang dragging Ruby, when they heard something. Asta and Yang turned around, and say red eyes inside the shed. The two were instantly on high alert.

"Run!" Asta shouted to Yang, and they break into a run. The Beowolves ran at them, growling after their prey.

During the escape, Yang and Asta got separated, and the girl was surrounded by the Grimm. A Beowolf was about to pounce on her, when someone let out a shout.

The Grimm turned and saw Asta yelling and waving her arms. "Hey! Tall, dark, and ugly! Come and get me!" He shouted at the Grimm, causing them to turn their attention to him.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you! Free appetizer right here!" Asta shouted, and the grim began to advance, Asta running to lead them away from the girls.

After they disappeared from her view, Yang falls to her knees. "Asta," She said while tearing up. "No." "Kid!" Yang heard someone yell, and turned to see her uncle Qrow. "What're you doing here?" He asked her. "Uncle Qrow, save Asta!" She pleaded with him, not caring about herself, pointing to where he led the Grimm away.

Qrow saw where she was pointing and ran in that direction. After a short run, He heard growling and shouting, and began moving to where the sounds came from. He soon reached a clearing and saw Asta holding a tree branch, dodging and parrying the strikes of the Beowolves, striking back as he dodged.

One of the monsters leapt and Asta wasn't going to be able to dodge it, so Qrow took it as his cue to intervene. He brought out His weapon, Harbinger, which appeared to be half of a large sword.

It soon extended into a single-edged great sword with a clockwork mechanism of indeterminate nature built into the space above the hilt, and a pair of parallel handguards is set beneath. A pair of shotgun barrels are also situated on either side of the main blade.

The clockwork mechanisms began to turn, and the blade turned and split into sections and fold backwards, taking a curved shape, gaining red sharpened edges on the inside, while the outer edge took on a serrated appearance due to the folding. The hilt telescoped in two places, which then curved much like a traditional farming scythe. A trigger, presumably for the shotguns, became prominent in the middle section of the handle.

Qrow advanced on the Beowolves, and swung his scythe, slicing the Grimm that leapt at his honorary nephew with ease. He then began twirling it with extreme dexterity, and began attacking the other Grimm that began advancing on the two. At the end of one spin, Qrow pulled the trigger on the handle, launching buckshot-based rounds from the shotgun barrels.

After blasting the Grimm, Qrow moved his hand slightly, manipulating some type of control mechanism on the handle, causing the gears o turn, rotating the gun barrels to the back of the scythe, and fired, causing more force in his swing while also shooting another Grimm, allowing him to slice through more Beowolves.

Soon, all the Grimm were destroyed, and after waiting to see if more would appear, Qrow deactivated his weapon, and placed it in the holster on his back, and looked to Asta. He saw he was covered in claw marks, along with scrapes and bruises. The boy was panting heavily from having to move so fast after making a long and tiring walk to the shed. Qrow moved to him to check his condition.

The boy then looked to Qrow and asked him a question. "Are Yang and Ruby safe?" He asked Qrow. "Yeah, kid, they're alright." He said, getting down on one knee in front of Asta. "Good." The alabaster-haired child panted, and promptly collapsed. Qrow saw this coming and grabbed the boy before he hit the ground.

Qrow then got up, and walked back to Yang and Ruby. Once he was there, Yang saw Asta and began to cry. "What's got you like this?" Qrow asked her. "It's my fault." Yang moaned, tears welling up in her eyes. "He tried to stop me, and I wouldn't listen! Even when he gave in, he tried to make sure Ruby was safe, and I still didn't listen! He almost died to protect us, and it's all my fault!" Yang wailed, the weight of the situation crashing down on her, the tears falling freely down her cheeks.

Qrow then brought her into a hug, letting her hold onto Asta as she wept. Yang soon fell asleep, Qrow picking her up, He then placed them into the wagon, and began dragging them back to the house.

* * *

Inside one of the bedrooms of the house, Asta was seen laying asleep in the bed, bandages covering his wounds. He them groaned as he woke up, blinking a bit as he took in his surroundings, once he saw where he was, he slowly got up, slightly groaning, and made his way out the room. After going down the stairs, he saw everyone in the living room. Yang and Ruby were holding onto each other, both worried for their brother. Taiyang had his hand on Salem's shoulder, who was creating a small tornado in her hand to calm herself down by distraction. Qrow was sitting in a chair to Asta's left, drinking occasionally from his flask.

"Uh, hey?" Asta said, gaining everyone's attention. "Asta!" The sisters shout as the run towards him, embracing him in their arms. "I'm sorry! You were right, and I should have listened!" Yang cried. "Why did you do it? Why?" Ruby whimpered into his chest. "Don't worry, Sunfire Dragon, Rosebud. And if it means protecting you, I'd do it again without a second thought." Asta said while he rubbed his friends' backs.

When Ruby and Yang calmed down, his mother took his place. "Please don't ever do that again, I don't want to lose you, little devil." Salem said, not wanting to lose her son. When she finished, Taiyang came next and put his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Thank you for protecting my daughters." He said to him., "What's family for?" Asta asked with a smile. Qrow then knelt down and placed his hands on Asta's shoulders. "Well done kid. But next time, think it through." Qrow then gave Asta a quick hug.

"So, how long was I out anyway?" Asta asked them all. The other five began to look nervous. "Two days." Salem said finally. "Seriously?! No wonder you guys were worried." Asta said, then gained a smiling. "Sorry to worry you all. I just did what I thought was right." Asta said, trying to calm his family down. "We know. Just think things through next time." Taiyang said to his figurative nephew. "Now let's get something to eat." Salem said, and soon began to prepare a meal with Taiyang helping her.

Later that night, Asta was still in his room, thinking about what happened. _"I need to get stronger. I may have gotten Ruby and Yang safe, but they still cried when I got hurt. I need to get stronger to stand with them when we become huntsmen. I'll make sure they never cry again."_ Asta thought deeply, but his inner brooding was interrupted when the door to his room opened. He turned his head towards the entrance, and saw the girls there, in their sleepwear.

"What's up?" Asta asked the girls. "Can we sleep with you tonight?" Yang asked shyly, with Ruby nodding along. "Sure." The boy smiled at his friends. The two girls then walked up to the bed and got under the covers with him, Yang on Asta's left, Ruby on his right.

The three then laid together in silence, just enjoying each other's company. The silence pursued until finally, Ruby spoke. "I miss mom." She said, looking sad again that night. "We all do. It's okay to feel sad, just don't let it consume you. That goes for you too, Yang." Asta said, catching the golden blonde's attention.

"I know you want answers, but just make sure that it won't cloud your judgement, okay?" He asked her. "Okay." She relented after looking at him for a second. "Now let's get some sleep." He said, bringing his arms around the girls, who moved their heads to the crook of the boy's neck. Asta looked at both of the girls, and gained a determined expression.

" _I need to become stronger. I won't let them feel sad again."_ The boy thought, his green eyes showing his spirit.

* * *

Years have passed since that incident, and Asta has been training harder than ever. And while he's grown, he's still shorter than yang, and only slightly shorter than ruby by less than half an inch, which is a sore subject for him.

While still unable to use aura or magic, his skill in combat has increased to extraordinary levels. His physical strength and stamina exceed everyone else in the class, having need it to be high to keep up with those who can use aura and magic. His strength is only equaled by his fierce will and determination.

As was the norm with Signal students, they were required to create their own custom weapons. While having decent knowledge in the field, it helps when you have a friend/sister-figure who loves weapons in a borderline unhealthy way. Ruby, with Yang on some parts, helped Asta with fine tuning his weapons, making sure they were neither too much nor too little in both effectiveness and design.

In the end, Asta had weapons that fit his style well. He carried two black one-handed short swords, each having a unique dust chamber, located where the hilt meets the blade, also allowing it to act as a cross guard, which allowed him to unleash different dust types in his attacks.

Asta also made sure that the swords could take the mana the user channels into the blade, allowing the wielder to use their magic in their attacks, as well as make them extremely durable due to using a unique metal, preventing the blades from breaking in the middle of a fight.

He also gave the blades extendibility, for when he needs a longer reach, allowing the blades to lengthen, as well as the hilts being able to extend to allow him to wield one with two hands when needed. He wears the scabbards strapped to his back. Along his waist was a belt, which had unique holsters for two large daggers. The swords were named Devil's Claw, while the daggers where Devil's Fang

It was now summer, right after his second year of Signal, and Asta was training with his blades striking at one of the training dummies they have at home with one of the swords, which was the length of a short-sword. The dummy never stood a chance at his onslaught.

He then looked at one of the other, larger dummies, and breaks into a run to advance on it, drawing his second blade from its scabbard, uses the control mechanism, causing the blade to expand and begins his volley of attacks. He brought his swords up and performed four consecutive downward strikes. The dummy then collapsed after he finished.

Asta then looked to a series of targets he set up that were hanging by ropes from the tree branches. He sheathed the swords and drew the daggers. Asta then notched a control mechanism, and his blades began to shift. The upper half of the blades split in half, and collapsed to the sides of the now revealed gun barrel built into the blade. The hilts then shifted to a different angle, and it appeared he was holding unique semi auto pistols, the bullet clip in the hilt of the daggers.

Asta's guns cocked their chambers, loading them, and began firing at the targets, hitting them with an accurate bullseye. When the clips in one of them were done, he sheathed the daggers, removed the clips, placed them in open containers, replaced the clip, grabbed it, and drew them again.

"Well I call that a success. Too bad to use the dust properties, I need aura." Asta said commenting on his blades. "I'll say!" "I'm with her." Asta heard, and turns around to see Ruby and Yang looking at him. "Your form's also great too." Yang added, she and Ruby walking up to him. "It's thanks to your help with my combat training, and helping me design these." Asta said, praising the two girls, causing them to blush.

Over the years, the two girls have grown. Ruby now wore a black long-sleeved dress with a high collar and red trim on the sleeves, a black waist cincher with red lacing up the front, and around her skirt has a red trim. She also wore a pair of thick black stockings and black combat boots with red laces, red trim around the top and red soles.

Her outfit is topped by a red hooded cloak fastened to her shoulders by cross-shaped pins. Her emblem, an intricate rose design, appears as a large silver brooch and is pinned to a wide black belt slung around her hips on an angle, which also carries bullets and a pouch.

Attached to the back of a belt was a strange rectangular object colored red with black detailing. This was Ruby's weapon, Crescent Rose, in storage form. The weapon takes the form of a medium-length, bolt-action rifle, as well as the form of a scythe, allowing it to be used as a mid-to-close-range bladed melee weapon. This form also doubles as a long-barrel sniper rifle for long-range shots without giving up the melee capabilities of the scythe. If needed, the bottom of the shaft can unfold to add more cutting power in a close-quarters fight.

One aspect of this is its large recoil, to which instead of compensating for it, Ruby harnesses it to enhance her combat mobility.

Yang wears a tan jacket that leaves her midriff bare, with golden brown piping and short, puffy sleeves with black cuffs that feature two gold buttons. Underneath this, she wears a low-cut yellow crop top with her emblem, a heart shape, with fire on top, on the left breast in black.

She also wears a brown belt covered by a pleated brown piece of material reaching from hip to hip around the back of her waist, with her emblem emblazoned on the right-most pleat in gold. Underneath this is a longer, white, asymmetrical piece of material reaching to her knee on the right side, as well as a pair of black mini-shorts. She wore a pair of brown, knee-high boots and orange over-the-knee socks, with the right sock pushed down just below the knee. A purplish-gray bandanna is tied around her left knee. An orange infinity scarf and black fingerless gloves completes her outfit.

On her wrists were what appeared to be gold bracelets and anklets, which convert into shotgun gauntlets and greaves, allowing her to deliver powerful punches and kicks. The gauntlets and greaves have a golden color, their under sides being black, and the shells inside are red and orange.

Inside there are chambers that holster a magazine consisting of 12 shells, giving the weapons 48 shots in total when both gauntlets are fully loaded. A silver-ish gray barrel is concealed in the front of the gauntlet, aligned between the knuckles of the index and middle finger for the gauntlets, and by the outer side of the ankles for the greaves. Originally, she was just going to have just gauntlets, but Asta suggested adding graves for a broader fighting style, and she took his advice, and it paid off.

The three then headed back to the house for dinner, and after a nice meal, Yang and Ruby headed to their room to change, Asta however stayed behind, needing to ask his mother something.

"Mom, I need to ask you something." Asta said, gaining Salem's attention. "Let me guess, this summer you want to travel and see the world, and look for a way to unlock your aura and magic, right?" Salem asked her son with a knowing look. "Wow. Had a whole speech prepared and everything. Way to make me feel that I worked for nothing there." Asta deadpanned. "Well, have you thought about how the girls will feel?" Taiyang asked him, having been present to hear his request. "I have. I know they'll be devastated, but I need to do this. I want to protect them, and make sure that they'll never have to worry about me. The hero's supposed to protect the girl, not the other way around." Asta said, showing his will in his eyes, as well as mirth.

"Then why didn't you say anything?" A voice asked.

Asta donned a shocked and worried look, turned around slowly, and saw the two girls standing right behind him. He was worried about what they will do to him for not telling them. Yang and Ruby moved forward and hugged from either side. Asta just stared at them confused.

"Even if you had your aura or magic, we'd still worry about you, because you're family." Ruby said from her spot. "And it's alright to feel that way, but don't keep it hidden, okay?" Yang asked from her spot.

"Okay. I'll be sure to do that. Thank you." Asta said with a smile. "So, can I?" He asked them. "Only if you get into Beacon next year." Yang said. "Yeah." Ruby added. "Count on it, Rosebud, Sunfire." Asta said to them. "Good. Now let's get you packed." Yang said, and she and Ruby began to drag him to his room.

* * *

The morning of Asta's departure came and the Rose-Xiaolong family were at the station, saying their farewells.

"Make sure you write back to us. And tell us where you're going next, so we can respond back." Taiyang said. "Sure." Asta smiled at his sort-of-uncle. Salem then moved to her son, and held out her hands, showing that she was holding a necklace.

The five ornaments on it were interesting to say the least. Each one was the suit symbol of playing cards, with the clover having five leaves in it. These were the symbols found on the grimoires of each kingdom. The fifth one in the center was unique, being a small sword. "What's this for?" The boy asked his mother. "It's designed to create an artificial aura field around you for protection. It's not as powerful as a natural aura, but it should do its job." Salem informed Asta. "Thanks." He then put it on. "Feels right."

The boy then turned to the girls, who shared a look of sadness, with smiles of acceptance. "Alright, bring it in." He said, and the two girls came in and gave him a hug, one on either side of him, Yang having bent down a bit because of her height.

"I promise, next time you'll see me, I'll be stronger than ever." Asta said as they got out of the hug. "You better." Yang said with a smile. "We'll be the best Huntsmen out there." Ruby added. "Last call for Mistral Last call." The announcer said. "Well, I better get going, Asta said, and soon made his way to the airship, the others making their way back home.

As he walked to it, "Oh, one last thing." Yang called before he got inside. Asta turned around, and was left shocked at what happened next. Yang and ruby managed to get on either side of him, and each gave him a kiss on his cheeks. He was so shocked that he didn't react to them shoving him into the airship. "Now hurry back, you hear!" Ruby called. Asta just stared off at them as the ship left. Confused at what happened. "Welp. I figure it out in a few months.

Back with the others, Yang and Ruby were looking at the airship Asta left on, glad they did that last thing. "Told ya he wouldn't see it coming." Ruby said. "Yeah, yeah. Though I'm surprised it was your idea to share him." Yang commented. "You know I don't like fighting my friends, especially you. I'm just glad dad didn't see that." Ruby added, she and Yang leaving to catch up with their father.

Meanwhile, Taiyang suddenly felt the need to pummel someone into the ground, but couldn't figure out who or why. He decided to let it go for now.

* * *

 **Well that took forever. Please tell me what you think of this by a review. See you in Fiore.**


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